It was a fiasco for Aston Martin that Lance Stroll risked on slick tires in the race time trial: his car crashed and Fernando Alonso was also knocked out.
After Friday, Saturday’s qualifying session was also held on a dry track, but Aston Martin was unable to double the top ten this time. In the second quarter, the contenders started the track in sunny weather, but the green team played a wait-and-see game. Fernando Alonso was one of the last to leave the garage to complete his first lap, shortly before Lance Stroll went out – but on slicks instead of the intermediate tires the others were using.
The Canadian chose the middle batter, took a risk, and ended up in a crash. He lost control of his car at the unnamed corner, which ended up in the rubber wall.
In addition to crashing the car, Aston Martin could also be upset by the fact that Stroll was red-flagged, and with that their other driver, Alonso, also lost the chance to lead a calculated lap. Thus Stroll got 14th and Alonso on the sprint 15th grid.
“We haven’t started the tour yet. So it wasn’t a rehearsal for us.” Alonso said in frustration.
When asked if it was too early to switch to patches, he added:
“I don’t know. You have to make certain decisions in tough conditions, and we were on the riskier side. We left the garage very late and Lance chose the dry tire. If it works, then everything is great, if it doesn’t work, then it’s a mistake. But nobody has a crystal ball.” .
Alonso was asked what he sees as an opportunity in the afternoon. “for nothing” he replied with a shrug.
Lance’s Picnic (Photo: XPB)Confirmed after the wave: “yes I’m fine.”
He revealed that slick tires were his choice. “We tried the slick condition, but it was too early, and the track was still quite wet. Unfortunately, that backfired.”
“I thought let’s give it a try. It’s always hard under the circumstances. It was a little early.”
“It’s always hard to judge how dry a track is. That is.”
Stroll is more optimistic about the sprint than his teammate. “We will see what we can do. It will be tough from 14th, but there will still be chances.” – Tell.
